Infrastructure Update

Press Releases      

EPA launches $20 Billion in Grant Competitions to Create National Clean Financing Network as Part of Investing in America Agenda

July 14, 2023 | Source: EPA  

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for $20 billion across two grant competitions under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, an Inflation Reduction Act program central to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda and environmental justice goals. Together, these competitive grant opportunities will mobilize private capital into clean technology projects to create good-paying jobs and lower energy costs for American families, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities, while cutting harmful pollution to protect people’s health and tackle the climate crisis. The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund will provide grants to support two-to-three national clean financing institutions, enabling them to partner with the private sector to provide accessible, affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide. The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator will provide grants to support two-to-seven hub nonprofit organizations, enabling them to provide funding and technical assistance to public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, and non-profit community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities—supporting the goal that every community in the country has access to the capital they need to deploy clean technology projects. 

DOE Invests $32 Million to Strengthen Nation’s Critical Minerals Supply Chain 

July 13, 2023 | Source: DOE 

On Thursday, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced $32 million for projects that will help build facilities that produce rare earth elements and other critical minerals and materials from domestic coal-based resources. The funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will strengthen domestic supply chains, helping meet the growing demand for critical minerals and reduce reliance on foreign sources. Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies here in America—such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells. The Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) Studies for Production of Critical Minerals and Materials from Coal-Based Resources funding opportunity deadline is September 11, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

DOT Releases EV Toolkit for Urban Areas to Help Communities Build Out EV Charging Infrastructure 

July 12, 2023 | Source: DOT 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office), released a free technical resource to help larger communities take full advantage of Federal funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and other forms of electric transportation. It follows the popular Rural EV toolkit released last year and updated earlier this summer. The new guide is called Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Urban Electric Mobility Infrastructure, which provides a comprehensive resource for communities, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transportation providers, businesses, and property owners and developers by including information on how to scope, plan, and identify ways to best leverage billions of dollars in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

DOE Announces $90 Million To Support Resilient and Efficient Building Energy Codes

July 12, 2023 | Source: DOE 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $90 million in competitive awards to help states, cities, tribes, and partnering organizations implement updated energy codes for buildings. Funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these awards will support 27 projects across 26 states and the District of Columbia to ensure buildings meet the latest standards for energy efficiency — reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy bills for American families and businesses. 

NOAA Announces $60 Million To Create a Climate Resilience Accelerator Program 

July 10, 2023 | Source: NOAA 

On Monday, NOAA the launched the Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators program, a $60 million investment in coastal resilience and American small businesses through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, will foster public-private partnerships to help support small businesses that are developing sustainable technologies geared toward climate resilience to attract capital, mature their technologies and scale their business models for climate impact. NOAA will invest in business accelerators that bring together stakeholders to understand how ocean observation technologies and information services can support solutions to specific climate resilience challenges and foster sustainable business models geared towards climate resilience.